Category Archives: Lists
Best Week 2014, Day Four!
“Why thirty?” someone asked me long ago, on Monday. “Why a top thirty, and not a twenty-five? Or a ten? Or a fifty?”
And honestly? It’s because I think thirty is one of the most underrepresented numbers among our generation. Anyone can do a top ten, or a top twenty-five, or a top fifty. But a top thirty?
Only on Space-Biff! Literally.
Best Week 2014, Day Three!
Fun (And Informative) Best Week 2014 Fact: One particular publisher has been highlighted every day of Best Week so far, and will be highlighted again today. Can you spot which one it is? Five space pennies for the victor, and off with the heads of the losers.
Yes, all of them. Off with all their heads.
Good luck, gladiator. If you won’t do it for your country, do it for your head.
Best Week 2014, Day Two!
Another day, another gaggle of six of the best games we played this year. It’s Best Week 2014, and today we’re playing mancala, flicking some monsters, and programing the weeks to come.
Best Week 2014, Day One!
Over a hundred games enter. Thirty games leave.
You know what that means: it’s Best Week 2014, and we’ve got five straight days of the year’s best games! Provided “the year’s best games” is strictly interpreted as “the games Dan Thurot and his gang of pals played and reviewed in 2014, whether they came out this year or not.” But what else could it mean anyway?
Welcome to Day One, also known as The Dog Day Legacy of the Dystopian Shmup in Boomtown Space. As you were, cadets.
Best Week 2013: The Index
I do these index posts for two reasons. First, because I’m a bit obsessive about indexing. I just love it. Mmm, indexing. And second, because every time I write a multi-part series, there are one or two people who request that I compile all the parts into a melange of linky goodness. I’m going to pretend the second reason is the one that actually compels me to do it. Sure isn’t my OCD, nuh uh, nothing to see here.
Anyway, with 2013 days behind us, now is probably a good time to do the index of all my best-of and top-games stuff from last year. Before I forget. And also before it’s completely irrelevant. So here it is: all my favorite games from 2013, plus some from 2012 that came out at the tail end of the year or that I just counted as 2013 games for some reason. Enjoy, and here’s to 2014!
Best Week 2013: The (Other) Games of the Year
Ahhh. The fifth and final day of Best Week 2013. Breathe it in. Breathe it. You smell that? That’s the scent of the ten best games of the year, not counting the genres we’ve covered thus far; so no fillers, expansions, solo, cooperative, or head-to-head games. Everyone on today’s list is playable with three or more players, occupies at least a couple hours, and — here’s the important part — is one of the best games of the year.
Also, we’ve got some investigative journalism for you. That’s right. You can find it all below.
Best Week 2013: Head-to-Heads
Here we are on day four of Best Week 2013, and we’ve finally arrived at my favorite topic: head-to-head games. Dueling games. Nobody-else-to-save-you games. Can’t-blame-your- teammate-when-you-lose games. Two minds locked in ultimate combat, the only other people at the table mere spectators, holding their breath and occasionally mumbling unwanted advice before your backhand slap shuts them up again.
Because this is my favorite genre by far, in place of the usual top five list, today we’re looking at the top ten. Buckle up.
Best Week 2013: Expanded
Was this a good year for board game expansions? I have no idea. There sure were plenty of them, including a bunch of interesting additions for Netrunner and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Even so, when it comes to figuring out which expansions were my favorites this year, there’s hardly any contest.
Best Week 2013: The Appetizers
“Filler games,” as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, are those delicious appetizers that are played nearly every game night while you wait for the one or two friends who always show up late. As such, they’re designed for a small group and take an hour or less to play, and they’re as simple as possible to avoid the awkwardness of finishing the rules explanation the moment your tardy friends arrive.
My gaming group has about five of those consistently belated buddies, so while this best-of list is limited to a handful of 2013 releases, it was tempting to include all of our favorite fillers we played this year: Stone & Relic, Master Plan, Infinity Dungeon, 7-Card Slugfest, Titanium Wars, String Doomworms, and The Agents. For all intents and purposes, we’ll pretend these fall under a runners-up category — though they really don’t, since a little bit like the Highlander, there can only be five.
Best Week 2013: Alone / Co-Op Time
“What’s this Best Week all about, sir?” I was asked last week by the orphan pulling my rickshaw through the fictional streets of Malgudi. I considered not answering, as talk shortened his breath and subsequently lengthened the journey, but some Christian nook of my heart compelled me to tell him anyway. Perhaps it is because I believe all peoples everywhere should know about Best Week. It is, after all, the most joyous five days of the year, in which all the best board games are compiled, considered, and listed. And everyone loves lists.
Today, on the very first day of Best Week 2013, we’re going to examine the five best solo and cooperative games of the year. There are some natural limitations — I cannot, for instance, award the title of “Best Solo / Co-Op Game of 2013” to a game I haven’t played, and there are one or two games that didn’t come out in 2013 at all. So okay, it’s subjective. But I’d love to hear your input, dear readers, for Best Week is not only about my favorite games — it’s also about yours.
SPACE-BIFF! 